THE HOARDS OF KRAV MAGA

DefenseMonkees
Sylvie SmeetsDefenseMonkees
5 min leestijd 19 weergaven 0
THE HOARDS OF KRAV MAGA

I have been practicing Krav Maga for over two years now. During those two years, there have been moments when crying was closer than laughing. I want to take you through my experiences because it was those very moments that made me stronger and elevated me to the next level.

First Time

You often cannot escape this in your first lesson: kicking and punching on a punching pad. Even with a punching pad, kicks and punches hit hard. The first time you get hit, it affects you. The physical force used against you resonates in your body, knocks the air out of your lungs, makes you wobble on your legs, and hits you. Physically, mentally, emotionally.

Boundaries

In addition to practicing techniques during the lesson, the training also revolves around conditioning, strength, and endurance. And there you inevitably face your own limit. Time and again. Are you tired? NEVER!

Pain

The instructors pay a lot of attention to safety. Safety first. You wear the necessary protective gear: mouthguard, headgear, possibly boxing gloves, and shin guards. But it is, and remains, a contact sport. So eventually, the inevitable moment comes when you get hit and it hurts a lot. You have to learn to take a hit as well...

The Strong Opponent

And then you encounter an opponent who is too strong for you. That punches and hits follow each other in rapid succession. So hard and so fast that it makes you dizzy. You forget to keep your defense up, which only worsens your situation. You get completely beaten down. Or he has you in a hold, and no matter how many techniques you attempt, you can't move. You are stuck. You have no chance whatsoever. Very confronting. You feel incredibly small and insignificant. For the sake of order: I am now talking about 'him', as in 'the opponent', but that can just as well be a woman or even a teenager with a damn good attack technique. Been there...

Attacks

If you want to practice self-defense techniques, there should also be an attacker. And that's a whole different field. Because attacking, you preferably want to do as realistically as possible. I don’t know how it is with you, but I was raised with the message that you should be kind. That you don't hurt others. With Krav Maga, that means absolutely nothing. This belief even gets in the way during training. Yelling at someone else, attacking with a knife, kicking at his groin, aiming a fake gun at someone else... All are hurdles. I still remember a senior challenging me to punch him in the face. I was wearing boxing gloves. He claimed he wouldn't feel any pain. He even dropped his guard and turned his cheek towards me. I couldn't do it. Not back then, but I can now.

Verbal Violence

If, besides an attacker charging at you, you are also shouted at, it can release all sorts of things in you. It throws you off balance. It is very intimidating. Especially if it’s not some empty shouts, but you are personally verbally attacked. I will never forget that an attacker had me in a chokehold, called me a goddamn whore, and threatened to kill me in terribly understandable terms. Terribly convincing. Well, with both his hands firmly around my neck, that was already quite clear. The day after, I still felt the pressure on my throat, but the words lingered in my mind for much, much longer. The verbal attack made a bigger impression than the physical pain. Not pleasant, but a good lesson.

By the way, for me, none of these are reasons to give up, but rather to keep going. To become stronger, to become better, to become smarter. To stand tall, so to speak. Because let’s not forget: the euphoria you feel when you can command your opponent is UNMATCHABLE, regardless of all inconveniences.

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